If you want a good ESL class you need to get the students doing something right away. When I was a teacher I’d usually do a 5 to 10 minute warm-up, warmer, or ice-breaker – whatever you want to call it. Sometimes these would be speaking-based, other times writing-based. Today I’m going to show you a few handouts I used a lot for warmers. These were great because it would take about 5 to 10 minutes for the students to fill-out, and then another 5 to 10 minutes as we went around the class and read some answers. Here’s the first one:

1st Class ESL Ice-Breaker Handout

I called this my 1st Class Handout because I always did it with a brand new class of students or when we started a new book. You can see that there are two handouts on one sheet, so you don’t have to waste a lot of paper, but you do have to cut it. When it came time to read the answers to this ESL warm-up handout I’d have students read a few, or sometimes all of them if it was a small class. You can even have students interview the person sitting next to them, something that’s great for getting them to know one another better. Here’s the next one:

ESL Warm-ups - Adverbs of Frequency

I call this the Often Handout, and it’s about as simple as you can get. But don’t let that fool you – many students had a hard time figuring out what they did twice a year (think dentist or haircuts for girls or even opening presents). This handout is better for older students or those that are higher-level. Since you’re using adverbs of frequency (always, sometimes, usually), it might be a good idea to have them write out full sentences for this handout. Perhaps you can even make a game to see who can have the most on their ESL worksheet. Here’s the last one:

ESL Warmer - Seasons

I call this the Seasons Handout, and this one is for summer (I have 4 of them). This one requires a bit more than a one-word answer, it requires and explanation. Because of that, expect students to take longer filling this out. But hey, that just means you can get all your stuff loaded-up on the computer, get some grading done, or maybe just take a well-deserved rest. Try these Free ESL Warmer & Icebreaker Worksheets today!

Now, when I say it’s the most popular, that doesn’t really mean much – it gotten but 178 views this month. But people like it nonetheless, and I figure I’ll give you some more handouts to use with that game board. Folks, if you’re not using this game in your class, I’d give it a try. My students really liked it, but I will warn you, they also get tired of it quickly, especially if you play it too often. So what are these free handouts? The first two are for your listening round (there are 3 rounds in my ESL Battleship – Listening, Writing, and Speaking).

One has to do with pen pals, and it’s for mid-level students. The next one is about the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and it’s for higher-level students. Here’s what the pen pals ESL handout looks like:

For the writing round there are also 2 handouts. Both are about the same level, but the questions are slightly different. Here’s what one looks like:

Ready for a fun ESL game? It’s been awhile since I put up a new adventure game, not since Pirate Adventure back in August. Well, here’s one of the last ones I made before my training center fired my ass. This game is really psychological more than anything, and should appeal to those with higher-level students, or teens. So what is it and how’s it work? Let’s go through some of the slides so you can get an idea.

You start off in your cabin. Instructions come with the game, but really, you need to explain to students that you just woke up and don’t really remember anything. As you can see, there are different options, or places they can go. Each of those will take you to another slide, and more choices. For this game I usually just went through it with the whole class. A few students will take charge, but if you have all of them read the slides out loud it works out pretty good. Also, this game takes time, maybe 45 to 60 minutes, so moving through it briskly isn’t a bad idea. Having time to talk about it afterward is also a good idea. Something else that happens is that students get frustrated when they don’t know what to do next. That’s a good time to ask the shyer students what they think. Sometimes you get lucky and they point out something the others have missed. Other times you just need to give them a clue. Either way, it means you’re killing time and burning up class. And hey – the students are having fu doing it! What’s not to like?

An ESL Game with Choices

Each of the ESL PowerPoint’s slides have choices that appear when you click the mouse. That little star down in the corner appears when there are no more choices. That’s kind of for you, the teacher, so you know when the slide is finished. See, on some slides you might not want to reveal everything just yet. Let’s explain below.

When you click on a choice you go to that screen. Here it’s the bed, and there’s nothing there. When you see that star you know to go back. Now students will usually choose the WC, or Water/Wash Closet (the bathroom).

In here those first two bullet points appear. If students choose to look around and check things out, I’ll click again and show them that sentence detailing the blood. I try to make them come up with it. Well, this is interesting, blood – what’s going on? The plot thickens, and you’ll find students are paying attention, on the edge of their seats, and not giving you a headache.

When you look at the table you’ll find breakfast. I ask if anyone wants to eat this, and they usually say yes. I then ask which students, and mark them down. See, the food is poisoned, and those students die later. I usually give them a few more slides, really until we get down the hallway or maybe to the train’s kitchen, or galley. Yep, then I tell them they’re feeling sick and that they die.

Finally, when you click on the door you’ll be taken out into the hallway. As you can see, there are many choices. Think of them as a long train, going from the front to back. This slide’s right in the middle. ESL Psychological Adventure Game There are lots of other cars to explore, and I’ll show just a few slides before detailing the story.

You’ll find things in the game, like in this Storeroom. There are lots of things, like boxes and the shelves. And lo and behold – a key! I wonder what that opens, huh?

I really like the students’ faces when they see this slide. They’ve got lots of options. Most of them are absolutely meaningless, but they don’t know that, and it’s fun watching them figure that out.

Most tables in the dining car will look like this. On this one you find another key. There are about 3 keys in this game.

I remember one time we were almost to the end, but they didn’t have the key. Well, 5 minute of class left and by golly, they had that key all of a sudden. It’s magic!

I like this slide because students can die. I’ll break out my 10-sided dice for this and let them roll. You can probably do it with a regular die as well. If they get a 1 or 2 they fall off and perish under the wheels of the train. Sorry.

Sometimes they can get into these rubbish cars at the back of the train. Here they find a note. There are several notes in the game, and all of them look something like this:

I crumple those notes up and throw them at a random student to read. Those notes just make them think, but they really mean nothing. What can I say? There’s a lot of red herrings in this game, or what I affectionately refer to as time-killers.

After you finally get all the keys and explore most of the train you’ll come to the engine room. Here you have to put in the right combination of knobs. I’d usually have something like 2, 7, 9, 4 in that order, but you can make up what you want or follow the game’s instructions. f they didn’t get it they died, which ended the game, here:

Now, if you click on that picture, or one of them, it’ll take you right back to that engine slide. It’s just fun to hear your students groan.

By the time they get the right combination the train stops. But here the story gives its final twist. Instead of saving the day, the police are waiting for you. Yeah, see, instead of being Mr. Nice Guy, you’re actually The Scorpion – a deadly serial killer that’s been terrorizing Europe. Yep, this is all in the teacher’s notes, and if you play the game right your students will never see it coming.

And if they’re anything like mine, they’ll be thrown off by this, and a little unhappy. I never did this game enough times, but I have a feeling after they think about it for a few days or a week they’ll get it, appreciate it, and want more. I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. Try Runaway Train in your ESL Class for $1.99 today!

No matter what your politics may be, or where you are right now in the world, there is a chance you can go on to do great things. Just because you’re teaching some screaming and ungrateful kids right now doesn’t mean that in a year or two you’ll not be doing something completely different. And what that is just might surprise you. Take me. Right now I’m running for the Montana House of Representatives. What’s that? Well, in America there are 50 states, right? Each of those states has its own legislature. A legislature is a body of people (in this case 150) that make the laws for that state. In Montana we have two branches to that legislature – the Senate (50 people) and the House of Representatives (100 people). If you’d like to read more about this, check out my 2014 Montana Election Blog. So what does this have to do with teaching ESL? Nothing. I just thought I’d let you know that you can do anything. Yeah, you tell that to your students a lot, but who tells it to you? Good luck, and remember, you won’t be teaching ESL forever!

When I taught ESL I did a lot with grammar. To do that I needed lists of words. So what did I do? Usually I’d type something into Google and get a list that looked about like this:

Of course the lists I got usually weren’t in a nice format like this, and easy to download and print. You can see this one above stretches into 2 pages, but I fixed that for the download below. Yeah, that’s right, I’m giving you this cool list for free! And I’m also giving you one that’s got 100 ESL Adjectives as well. Why? Well, because these have been sitting in my “Not Used” folder collecting dust. Perhaps you can find some use for them. What did I do when I was a teacher? I always had a folder that had lists like this in it, which I carried to class in my ESL teacher’s backpack. If there was a lull in class, or if I suddenly needed some words for something, this would be easy to pull out and use. Hopefully you can get some use out of this 100 Common ESL Verbs List and 100 Common ESL Adjectives List.